BOY-BANDS
IN 2013
1. SUPER JUNIOR
Super Junior (Korean: 슈퍼주니어; Syupeo Junieo) is a South Korean boy band. Formed in 2005 by producer Lee Soo-man of S.M. Entertainment, the group comprised a total of thirteen members at its peak. Super Junior originally debuted with twelve members, consisting of leader Leeteuk, Heechul, Hankyung, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook andKibum. Kyuhyun joined the group in 2006.
Known as the "Kings of the Hallyu Wave", Super Junior launched into international recognition following the release of their best-selling single "Sorry, Sorry" in 2009, the title song of their most critically successful album Sorry, Sorry and were the best-selling K-pop artist for three years in a row.
Over the years, they have been divided into smaller subgroups, simultaneously targeting different music industries and audiences. Largely due to Super Junior's success as entertainers, other Korean entertainment managements began to train their music groups in other areas of entertainment, such as acting and hosting. In addition to their commercial success, Super Junior has earned fourteen music awards from the Mnet Asian Music Awards, sixteen from the Golden Disk Awards, and is the second singing group to win Favorite Artist Korea at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards after JTL in 2003. In 2012 they were nominated for "Best Asian Act" in MTV Europe Music Awards showing one more time their popularity around world.
In December 2009, Hankyung departed from the group after filing a lawsuit against their agency S.M. Entertainment. Hankyung subsequently won the lawsuit in December 2010, though his departure from Super Junior was not made official until September 27, 2011, when S.M. Entertainment finally released a statement to that effect. Heechul enlisted for his mandatory military service on September 1, 2011. Kangin was absent from the group for their fourth and fifth album promotions, but completed his service in April 2012, and rejoined the group for their sixth album in mid 2012, however, the absent three members are considered as part of the group regardless. Leeteuk enlisted for his mandatory military service on October 30, 2012. As of 2012, Super Junior has nine active members: Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun.
2. BIG BANG
Big Bang or BigBang (Korean: 빅뱅; stylized as BIGBANG) is a South Korean male group under the management of YG Entertainment. Formed in 2006, the group consists of G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri. Big Bang is known for their unique urban-originated music and fashion style. The members' involvement in composing and producing their own music, most notably leader G-Dragon, has earned the group respect and praise from music industry experts.
The group's turning point came with their hit song Lies, which stayed at number one on Korean charts for a record-breaking seven consecutive weeks. Their follow up releases, Hot Issue and Stand Up, furthered their success, spawning hits such as Last Farewelland Haru Haru. From 2007 to 2008, Big Bang received many awards, including "Best Male Group", "Song of the Year", "Artist of the Year", and the Grand Award at the Seoul Music Awards.
From 2009 to 2010, Big Bang expanded their endeavors to Japan, and were voted "the Korean group that Japanese fans wish to see the most". They became the first foreign group awarded "Best Newcomer" from the Japan Cable Broadcasting Station and "Best New Artist" at MTV Japan. Amidst their Japanese group promotions, the members branched out to do solo activities. Taeyang, G-Dragon, and Seungri have released solo albums. G-Dragon and T.O.P also collaborated on an album under the sub-unit GD & TOP. Seungriand Daesung have acted in both TV dramas and musicals. T.O.P became a highly acclaimed film star. Daesung also hosted many of Korea's most popular variety TV shows.
After nearly a two-year hiatus in Korea, Big Bang reunited in 2011 with their successful album Tonight. However, promotions were cut short when multiple members encountered legal issues. In November 2011, representing the Asia-Pacific region, Big Bang emerged as the inaugural "Best Worldwide Act" winner at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards. This was the first time in six months all five members were seen together. In 2012, Big Bang released their fifth Mini Album Alive in Korea and Japan before embarking on their first ever World Tour which concluded in early 2013.
3. SHINEE
Shinee (pron.: /ˈʃaɪniː/ shy-nee; Korean: 샤이니; Japanese: シャイニー; more commonly known and stylized as SHINee) is aSouth Korean contemporary R&B boy group formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group consists of Onew, Jonghyun, Key,Minho, and Taemin. They made their debut on May 25, 2008 on SBS's The Music Trend with their single, "Replay" (Korean: 누난 너무 예뻐 (Replay)).
Since their debut, Shinee has released four full-length albums, four mini-albums, one live album and various singles. They have also won many awards, held three concert tours and starred in their own reality shows. Shinee is considered to be a fashion icon having started the "Shinee Trend" and are known for their highly synchronized and complicated dancing.
They made their Japanese debut on June 22, 2011 by releasing a Japanese version of their single, Replay, and gained the title "The artist who managed to get in top 3 for 3 continuous releases since debut" for the foreign artist category. Such an achievement had never been gained by anyone else ever since the single ranking chart was established 44 years ago in January 1968, followed by their first Japanese studio album, The First on December 7, 2011.
4. U-KISS
U-KISS (Korean: 유키스, Japanese: ユーキス) is a South Korean boy band formed by NH Media in 2008. Their name is an acronym, standing for Ubiquitous Korean International idol Super Star. The group consists of Soohyun, Kiseop, Eli, Kevin, Dongho, Hoon and AJ (the latter two joining the group in 2011). Their breakthrough hit was Man Man Ha Ni (2009) from their EP ContiUKiss. They released their first full-length album Only One on February 3, 2010. In September 2011, U-Kiss released their second full-length album, Neverland. They made their formal debut in Japan in 2011 with the release of the single "Tick Tack". The second single is entitled "Forbidden Love" while their first Japanese full-length album was A Shared Dream (2012). Since their debut, the group has released three full-length albums, seven extended plays and various singles. The group also participated in various TV reality shows and films.
5. MBLAQ
MBLAQ, (în Hangul, 엠블랙, acronim pentru Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality) este un cvintet sud-coreean creat de cântărețul pop R&B, producătorul și actorul Rain în cadrul companiei J.Tune Camp. Cei 5 membri sunt: Seung Ho (Yang Seung Ho: Lider), G.O (Jung Byung Hee: Vocalist), Joon (Lee Chang Sun: Vocalist), Thunder/Cheon Doong (Park Sang Hyun: Vocalist/Rapper), și Mir (Bang Cheol Yong: Rapper). Trupa a debutat în 9 octombrie 2009 la concertul lui Rain,Legend of Rainism.
Pe 14 octombrie 2009 trupa și-a lansat albumul de debut, "Just BLAQ", care intrat în diverse topuri muzicale online și off-line din Coreea de Sud. Apoi grupul a lansat cel de-al doilea album Y pe 19 mai 2010, o piesă inițial compusă de Rainpentru el însuși. El a creat versurile, muzica și coregrafia pentru Y. Pe 10 ianuarie 2011, trupa și-a lansat primul album de studio, BLAQ Style.
6. FTISLAND
7. TVXQ
TVXQ, initials of Tong Vfang Xien Qi (Chinese: 東方神起), stylized as TVXQ!, is a South Korean pop group formed in 2003 under SM Entertainment. In South Korea they are known as Dong Bang Shin Ki (Korean: 동방신기), often abbreviated asDBSK; and in Japan as Tohoshinki (Japanese: 東方神起). Their name translates to "The Rising Gods of the East".
The group debuted in 2003 as a 5 member boy band consisting of leader U-Know Yunho, Max Changmin, Hero Jaejoong, MickyYoochun and Xiah Junsu. In July 2009, the latter three filed for an injunction against their Korean agency SM Entertainment. This led to TVXQ ceasing all public activities and appearances after 2009. After a hiatus of 2 years and 3 months, TVXQ returned as a duo consisting of Yunho and Changmin.
TVXQ is one of Asia's most successful acts and they have been labelled as "Asia's Stars" and "King of K-pop" as certified by their Tone Tour in Japan for their immense success and contributions to Korean pop. TVXQ is also the best-selling K-POP group in the world with over 11.7 million copies sold.[10][11] Since their debut, TVXQ has released 6 Korean albums, 5 Japanese albums, over 20 Korean singles and over 30 Japanese singles. According to Gaon Chart and Oricon, till October 2012, TVXQ has sold over 11.7 million copies of albums alone throughout their career in Korea and Japan alone, excluding sales from other Asian and international countries, and 20 million copies in world-wide. TVXQ’s The Best Selection 2010 broke several records for being the first foreign male artists to surpass the 700,000 mark in Japan.[14] They have two official fanclubs in Korea and Japan, known respectively asCassiopeia and BigEast, the former which notably earned a Guinness World Record in 2008 and 2011 for its size and is said to be one of the largest fan clubs in the world, boasting 800,000 fans in Korea alone.
TVXQ topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart for the ninth time with the release of their single "Keep Your Head Down" from their album of the same name in Japan, expanding their record for the most number-one singles by a foreign artist. It is the second time since Oricon inaugurated searching for sales in 1968 that a single by a foreign artist gathered more than 200,000 copies sold in the first week. The initial occurrence happened in 2009, when TVXQ sold 256,000 units of “Break Out!”.
In 2011, TVXQ returned as a duo with the release of their Korean pop album Keep Your Head Down, which ranked at No. 1 on the Gaon Chart two weeks after its release. Their full-length Japanese album TONE was released on September 28, 2011, selling 205,000 copies in its first week and reaching #1 on the Daily, Weekly and Monthly Oricon Charts. This is the first time in TVXQ's history that they have achieved a #1 in all 3 Oricon rankings charts. Since their 2011 comeback, TVXQ has sold more than 1 million copies in Korean album sales and Japanese singles and album sales. Billboard described the group as "K-pop royalty".
8. SS501
SS501 (pronounced as Double-S Five-Oh-One or Deo Beul E Seu Oh Gong Il, Hangul: 더블에스오공일, Chinese: 雙五百強之一,Japanese: ダブルエスオゴンイル ) is a South Korean boy band formed under the management of DSP Media, formerly known asDaesung Entertainment and DSP Entertainment. The group debut in 2005 with five members: Kim Hyun-joong, Heo Young-saeng,Kim Kyu-jong, Park Jung-min and Kim Hyung-jun.
As of June 2010, upon the expiration of group's contract with DSP Media, all the members have subsequently moved to other management companies, to pursue solo careers, but Kim Hyun-joong, the leader, has stated that they have not disbanded.
The name of the band is a combination of letters and numbers that have special meaning. The first “S” stands for “Superstar". The second “S” is an abbreviation for "Singer". The combination of 5, 0, and 1 symbolizes "five members united as one forever".SS501's official fan club name is Triple S (means SSS : Super Star Supporters).
9. BEAST
Beast (pron.: /ˈbiːst/; Korean: 비스트; stylized as BEAST or B2ST) is a six-member boy band from South Korea, formed in 2009 byCube Entertainment. The band's members are Yoon Doo-joon, Jang Hyun-seung, Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang, and Son Dong-woon.
Beast has released one Korean full-length album, six Korean mini-albums, one Japanese full-length and various singles. The group's debut release was in October, 2009, when their first mini-album, Beast Is the B2ST, was made available. They then released their first full-length album, Fiction and Fact, in 2011, receiving their first triple crown on M.net's M! Countdown for their lead singleFiction. In the same year, Beast made their Japanese debut with the release of the single, Shock (Japanese Version).
The group gained attention for the lack of industry success previously experienced by its members, with media outlets referring to them as "a group of recycled material". However, the group has achieved significant commercial and critical accolades with time, winning the Bonsang award at the Seoul Music Awards in both 2011 and 2012. Beast won the Artist of the Year (Daesang) award at the Melon Music Awards and Album of the Year for Fiction and Fact at the Gaon Chart Awards for the second quarter of the year in 2011. "Fiction" also won a Daesang for "Song of the Year" at the 2011 KBS Music Festival.
10. 2PM
2PM (Hangul: 투피엠) is a South Korean boy band managed by JYP Entertainment. The current members are Jun. K (formerly known as Junsu), Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho and Chansung. Former leader, Jay Park, officially left the group in early 2010.
The members of 2PM found their start under Korean musician Park Jin Young, who formed an eleven-member band known as One Day. Eventually the band was split into 2PM, and a similar but independent group known as 2AM. 2PM debuted with the song "10 Jeom Manjeome 10 Jeom" (10점 만점에 10점, lit. 10 Points Out of 10 Points), which showcased their acrobatic dance styles. They achieved their first Number 1 single with "Again & Again". Both singles featured on their first studio album, The First Album 1:59PM, released in 2009. The band went on to release another Korean album, known as Hands Up, in 2011. They made their Japanese debut later that year with Republic of 2PM.
